There was pomp, there was circumstance, and there was Goldy the Gopher spinning his head in front of assorted media members and silver-haired alumni. 

And after a brief introduction by University of Minnesota Athletic Director Mark Coyle, there was Bob Motzko, taking the podium as the new men’s hockey coach of the Golden Gophers. 

“This is my third and final stop at the University of Minnesota,” Motzko said, referring to his previous stints as a player and assistant coach. 

“I came here in 1981 as an aspiring hockey player, Brad (Buetow) cut me, so I was going to leave,” Motzko said. “That summer he recruited me to come back here, and he cut me again."

Motzko went on to thank the man he is replacing, Don Lucia, for hiring him as an assistant on Minnesota’s national championship teams in 2002 and 2003 and for his introduction to the United States World Junior team. 

“Everything in our life is about relationships,” Motzko said. “I am forever grateful for Don bringing me back into the fold in 2002.”

In 13 seasons at the head of the St. Cloud State program, Motzko posted a record of 276-192-49, including a 5-8 record in NCAA Tournament games. The Huskies bowed out in the first round of this year’s tournament after earning the No. 1 overall seed in the field. 

With the landscape of college hockey undergoing a major shift in the last several years, Motzko said that the program is ready to take on the challenges of succeeding in the second decade of the new millennium. 

“With the league changes, early singing, early recruiting, there’s been a dynamic change,” Motzko said, adding that the fluidity of this year’s NCAA Tournament is a testament to that change. 

“There were 20 teams this year that had a shot at the national title,” Motzko said. “That’s pretty healthy, and we need to embrace that.”  

The weight of being one of the nation’s preeminent programs, coupled with having the strongest stable of high school players in the country is certainly not lost on Motzko, who assured the group in TCF Bank Stadium’s Indoor Club that he knows what he is getting into. 

“I fully understand what’s in front of me,” Motzko said. “The history and the tradition of Gopher hockey is one of the greatest in the country.”

Motzko added that the alumni, program supporters, and fans will be an integral part of his tenure in Minneapolis. 

“We need to build this together, we need to enjoy this together, and we need to celebrate this great university and this hockey program together.”